Chemical group disbanded ahead of csg industry approvals

by dburdon

Daniel BurdonDaniel Burdon is APN Australian Regional Media's Canberra bureau reporter, covering federal parliament and politics. He was previously a rural and general news reporter at the Morning Bulletin in Rockhampton and worked in Alice Springs for the Centralian Advocate.

It advised the regulator on applications from companies to keep commercially sensitive information private on specific chemicals under regulations to protect commercial information.

While a new "strategic consultative committee" was set up late last year, it is understood the new group will not play a role in confidentiality decisions taken by the regulator's director.

During an 18-month interim period when the TAG was not operating, the regulator approved the "Chemical in Duratone HT" and at least 10 other Halliburton chemicals for use in Australia's onshore and offshore gas industries.

The regulator also made changes to its criteria for confidential listing and exemption information applications while the TAG was not in place in late 2014.

Only three industry groups and Halliburton provided submissions on that consultation.

The company argued against having to detail how publication of commercially sensitive information could affect its bottom line.

While that condition was mandatory in the initial consultation paper on the changes in July 2014, the final changes made allowed companies to provide it on a voluntary basis.

National Toxics Network's Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith, who sat on the TAG, said the Duratone HT approval was a "perfect example" of her concerns about confidentiality decisions.

"What concerns us is that when confidentiality and exempt information decisions are made behind closed doors, without any review, without any independent voice, we believe that is a recipe for disaster into the future."

A Federal Health Department spokeswoman said in a statement the government was not proposing more changes to the confidentiality guidelines.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN?

September 2013: NICNAS TAG committee disbanded after 2013 election.

December 2013: NICNAS starts reforms to guidelines on "confidential listing" of new chemicals.